It is known in the art of packaging containers of various shapes such as bottles, small receptacles and the like that there is the need to align the containers in arrays consisting of a predefined number of rows and columns depending on the dimensions of the packaging box into which they must be inserted by means of a transportation head which removes the array of containers and places it in the box.
Automatic machines which are designed for this purpose are also known. These machines are substantially divided into two parts which are arranged alongside and synchronized with each other. In the first part the arrays of containers are formed, while in the second part the box to be filled is formed, the connection between the parts being effected by the head for gripping and inserting the array, already formed, into the box.
More particularly, formation of the rows is performed by a longitudinal belt for feeding containers arranged in a single line, which is provided with deviation means movable in a transverse direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of feeding of the containers and designed to cause channelling of the individual containers into receiving channels arranged above an auxiliary conveyor belt onto which the containers for filling in succession each channel are unloaded until the number of rows and columns corresponding to the array to be boxed has been formed.
The channels are delimited by longitudinal side walls which are movable in the transverse direction with respect to the direction of feeding of the containers, so as to allow the adjustment of the width of each channel and hence the overall number of channels which can be formed, in relation to the dimensions of the bottle being fed.
Although these machines perform their functions, they have drawbacks, among others, in that the side walls are individually attached by means of associated vertical arms to transverse guides inside which the free end of the arms may slide so as to allow transverse displacement thereof.
Such displacement is performed manually and for each longitudinal side wall section. In view of the fact that the machines may have very substantial longitudinal dimensions and therefore a large number of side walls to be displaced transversely and aligned in the longitudinal direction and that the number of parallel side walls for each section may also be large so as to allow the formation of a large number of lines corresponding to containers with small dimensions, it can be understood how manual adjustment for each side wall results in machine down times which are unacceptable for the production outputs required.